What Happens After We Ban Abortion?

I’m Not Advocating for Abortion — I’m Searching for Accountability

Let me be clear: I believe life is sacred. I’m not promoting abortion. I value unborn life deeply.

But I also believe that honoring life requires more than passing a law. It means caring for that life — and the mother who carries it — long after the law is written. It means building systems strong enough to uphold the moral weight we say we care about.

Because if we’re going to legislate birth, then we have to take responsibility for what that life will need once it begins.

When the Law Leaves No Room for Real Life

Years ago, when my wife had to undergo an emergency C-section, a doctor quietly pulled me aside and asked a question I’ll never forget:

“If we can only save one life, whose should it be?”

That question shook me — and it still does.

It’s a decision no parent, no partner, no doctor should have to make. But in that moment, I understood something deeper than principle: life is fragile — and sometimes, so are the decisions.

That’s why I’m concerned about laws that ban abortion in every case, without clear medical exceptions or legal protection for doctors. I’m not talking about convenience. I’m talking about emergencies — when mothers are bleeding, or fetuses aren’t viable, or both lives are in danger.

Doctors shouldn’t be forced to choose between doing what’s right and breaking the law. And no one should be punished for trying to save a life.

If we care about life, we must create space for thoughtful, ethical decisions — and protect those trying to make them.

What Happens If There’s No Plan?

Let’s imagine a future where abortion is banned nationwide — and 1 million more children are born each year.

If even 60% of those children are born into poverty or unstable situations, that’s:

• 600,000 children in need

• 90,000 possibly entering the foster system

• 420,000 relying on Medicaid or food assistance

• 150,000 needing emergency housing or shelter

  
  

And that’s every year, added to systems already under stress.

I’m not saying this to stir fear. I’m saying it because we can’t afford to ignore it.

We call it a win when a law passes — but is it really success if we haven’t made life better, safer, or more supported for anyone involved?

When Law Replaces Wisdom

Sometimes I wonder: Is the law trying to do what we no longer trust people to do?

If abortion is legal, a person can still choose not to have one. But if abortion is banned, even those facing unthinkable emergencies may have no choice at all.

In a better world, maybe we wouldn’t need laws about abortion. People would be guided by compassion, faith, wisdom, and support.

But we don’t live in that world — and until we do, we need to ask:Are our laws helping people make good decisions, or just punishing the hard ones?

The People Who Quietly Make the Difference

I don’t have a list of solutions — but I’ve been thinking about the people who quietly show up in these situations every day.

• Foster parents

• Shelter workers

• Counselors

• Nurses

• Neighbors who bring meals to a young mother who’s overwhelmed

  
  

I admire those people deeply. The difference they make is hard to measure — and the absence of people like them is just as noticeable.

I’m not saying we all have to be those people. But maybe we should recognize how much they matter — and how broken things can get when no one fills that gap.

Acknowledge the Weight, Respect the Complexity

I also want to acknowledge something else:I’m a man. I haven’t carried a child. I haven’t sat alone in a doctor’s office or stared down a decision no one should have to make.

I don’t pretend to understand the full weight of that experience. But I believe any real solution has to take that reality seriously — with compassion, not judgment.

There’s grief on every side of this issue:

• The parent who loses a child they longed for

• The woman who felt she had no choice

• The family who waited to adopt but never got the call

• The doctor caught between the right thing and the legal thing

  
  

Sometimes, no matter the outcome, someone walks away with loss. And that grief deserves to be seen — not politicized or ignored.

I’m Not Picking a Side — I’m Asking a Question

This issue is too complex, too personal, and too important to divide into “pro-life” and “pro-choice” and stop there.

Both positions demand more than a vote. They demand careful planning, ethical clarity, and a willingness to support real families in hard situations.

Maybe there’s a better way of handling this than we have been.